Protective floor covering



April 1, 1969 M. KESSLER PROTECTIVE FLOOR COVERING Filed Dec. 6, 1966FIG. 5.

INVENTOR Milfon Kess/er ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,435,481PROTECTIVE FLOOR COVERING Milton Kessler, 6690 Harrington, Youngstown,Ohio 44512 Filed Dec. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 599,601 Int. Cl. A47] 23/22 US.Cl. 15-215 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A floor mat having anonslip flexible plastic base with flaps on the respective ends thereofforming flat pockets to receive the ends of a removable washable matelement which is replaceable, with means for holding the removableelement securely in place when in use.

This invention relates to protective floor coverings, and moreparticularly to mats which may be placed near entrances to protectfloors from incoming traflic and to provide a surface upon which soiledfootwear may be wiped or temporarily stored.

Even with todays paved roadways and walkways, floors immediately withinentrances and doors leading into buildings rapidly become soiled. Toprevent the transfer of mud and dirt from the outdoors onto expensivecarpeting and other floor coverings, mats upon which the soles of shoesand boots may be wiped are usually placed either just outside orimmediately inside entrances to buildings.

There are two primary disadvantages of floor mats commonly used for thispurpose. Either the mats move too easily on the floor and persons usingthem are liable to slip and fall, or, if the mats are fastened to thefloor so that they cannot move, then they are virtually impossible toclean properly.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improvedprotective floor mat.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improvedprotective floor mat which is relatively stable and not easily movableover the floor.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improvedfloor mat whose soiled surface is readily removable for cleaning andreadily replaceable with a clean surface.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds, which description should beconsidered together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the floor mat of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a section view through the floor mat of FIG. 1 taken along theline 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a section of a portion of the floor mat of FIG. 1 taken alongthe line 3-3;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are plan views of the lower portion of the mat of FIG.1 showing various types of antislip members thereon.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the reference character 11designates a base portion which may be formed of any suitable materialsuch as polyvinyl chloride, Mylar, or the like. The base portion 11supports a readily removable upper portion 12 which may be formed of areadily launderable material such as a woven fabric. The base portion 11has fixed thereto an end member 13 and an end member 14 at the oppositeends thereof. Each of the end members 13 and 14 comprises on theunderside a pair of ribs or feet 15 and 16 which provide antislipfriction with the floor, and on the topside a flap 17. The flaps 17overlay the ends of the upper portion 12 to hold it in place on thelower portion 11. Abrasive,

3,435,481 Patented Apr. 1, 1969 friction or adhesive strips 18 areattached to the top side of the base 11 to hold the mat 12 in place.

FIG. 2 more clearly shows the end member 13 with the ribs or feet 15 and16 and the upper flap 17. This figure shows one end of the mat 12 inplace under one of the flaps 17, which are flexible enough to be bentbackward so that the ends of the mat 12 can be placed thereunder orremoved therefrom. FIG. 3 shows how the mat 12 rests on the strip 18whose top frictional surface tends to prevent or inhibit sliding of themat on the base.

In use, the base 11 is placed in position on the floor wherever it isdesired, usually immediately within a door. The feet 15 and 16 tends tokeep the base 11 from moving on the floor as traffic passes over it, butin locations of heavy and rough trafiic, particularly where children maybe running in and out, it may be more desirable, or even necessary, tomore firmly attach the base 11 to the floor. In those locations, thebase 11 may be attached to the floor by any desirable means such asscrews, nails, tacks or even an adhesive. It is not necessary to movethe base 11 once it is in position. A readily cleanable mat 12, whichmay be a common woven cotton, chenille, or simi- 'lar rug of standardsize, is placed on the base 11 with the ends of the mat 12 under theflaps 17. This may be readily accomplished merely by bending back theflaps 17 an amount sufficient to permit the ends of the mat 12 to slideunder them. When the mat 12 is in place, it is held at the ends againstmovement by the flaps 17, and the abrasive strips 18 serve to prevent orinhibit lateral movement of the mat 12 with respect to the base 11. Whenthe mat 12 becomes soiled from use, it is removed from the base 11 forcleaning, and another mat 12 is inserted in its place.

Where trafiic is heavy or rough, or where mats 12 with a low coefficientof friction are used, the strips 18 may not be suflicient to preventmovement of the mat 12 on the base 11. In those cases, additionalfrictional members may be used in any of many patterns. FIGS. 4, 5 and 6show three of these patterns. In FIG. 4, the base 11 supports on itsupper surface a plurality of diagonally arranged abrasive or frictionalstrips 21. The spacing of the strips may be adjusted to meet theparticular conditions where the mat is to be used. In FIG. 5, the base11 supports abrasive strips 22 which are arranged in a diamond pattern.This provides excellent nonslip protection in all directions. The base11 of FIG. 6 carries a plurality of generally circular patches 2.3 forproviding friction between the base 11 and the mat 12. The frictionalmaterial of the strips 18, 21 and 22 and the patches 23 may be made fromany suitable material such as emery cloth. In addition to the nonslipmaterial of the strips 18, 21 and 22 and the patches 23, the base 11itself may be ribbed laterally, or longitudinally, or both. In fact,when the longitudinal strips 18 are used, the base 11 should be ribbedlaterally, and the strips thus provide lateral friction and the ribsprovide longitudinal friction. In addition, if desired, the base 11 maybe formed with pockets or with a rim around the edge to form a largepocket into which ice and water from wet shoes may drip and which mayhold particles of dirt which may pass through the mat 12. Also, the base11 may be formed with a roughened surface on its underside to add to thefloor-gripping action of the feet 15 and 16.

The above specification has described a new and improved floorprotective covering having a base which is adapted to remain in positionwhile a mat may be removed for cleaning and be replaced with a cleanmat. The entire unit is designed to provide antislip footing of both thebase and the mat and serves as a means to clean shoes and boots and toprevent the carrying of street soil into a building and onto expensivefloor coverings. It is realized that this description may indicate toothers additional ways 3 in which the principles of the invention may beused without departing from its spirit, and it, therefore, is intendedthat this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A protective floor covering for providing a nonslip surface uponwhich shoes and boots may be wiped, said covering comprising a base ofheavy plastic sheeting having a first and a second end, feet on theunderside of said first and second ends for frictionally engaging asurface upon which said base is placed, a flap on the top side of eachsaid first and second ends, a removable washable thin cloth mat adaptedto be placed upon said base with its ends under each of said flaps,friction means interposed between said base and said mat to maintainsaid mat and said base relatively immovable with respect to each other,said friction means comprising a lattice of criss-crossed strips ofmaterial, in the form of elongated fiat tapes running from side to sideof the base, adhered on the bottom side to said base and having an upperabrasive friction surf-ace in contact with the bottom of said mat toprevent slipping of the mat on said base.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 WALTER A. SCHEEL, PrimaryExaminer.

LEON G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner.

